If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Well, what I mean is the Giants' quarterback broke from his formula of giving
vanilla answers to finally take a shot back at us in the media who took
his saying he was elite like Tom Brady this summer and blowing it up into a
huge story.

“No I don’t have any regrets. I thought I gave an honest answer,” Manning
said. “I didn’t regret it at the time or think anything of it at the time.
Obviously, it’s been made into a big deal but I can’t always control that. I’m
worried about getting ready to play, play this game, go out there play my best
football and get the team to play our best football.

“That’s my job. My job is to play the game. It’s your job to talk and make up
stories.”

Boom!

To be fair, many of us were dragged into this storyline against our will. And
again, to be fair to Manning, he was backed into a corner with the original
question.

But again, to be fair to a great quote from a guy who sprinkles them
sparingly: Boom!

“I heard about it and kind if saw it on the news and read about it a little
bit. You had to laugh,” Manning said. “Mrs. Mara, you see her and you think,
‘Sweet Mrs. Mara,’ but she obviously is very passionate about Giants football
and passionate about this team, is involved and knows the players.

“I like her attitude. I like the way she spoke her mind about something she
cared deeply about.”

"I think we’ve talked about all that a long time ago," the Patriots coach
said on a media conference call today. "Had a lot of comments on the record
after the game and everything else. Go back and look at all of the things that
happened then, or some other year."

But Belichick spoke more fondly of other ties with the Giants: the 12 years
he spent there as an assistant coach, his "good friendship" with coach Tom
Coughlin and the familiarity and respect between the two franchises.

Belichick pointed out that this will be the third time the two teams face
each other this season, including the preseason matchup.

"This is a team that we have some background with relative to most of the
other NFC teams we've played through the years. We know how good they are,"
Belichick said, praising their coaches, ownership and front office.

He added: "They’ve performed well under pressure in critical games. They’ve
played some of their best football when they’ve had to and when it's counted the
most. That’s what you’ve got to do this time of year. ... We know this is the
best team we’ve played. It’s going to take our best game. The way it should
be."

Belichick won two Super Bowls with the Giants during his run with the team
from 1979-1990, serving as special teams coach, a defensive assistant and
eventually defensive coordinator. Coughlin was the Giants' receivers coach from
1988-90, and Belichick said of all the fellow coaches he has worked with, their
relationship was "as good as any."

"I have a lot of respect for Tom," Belichick said. "He’s definitely stood the
test of time in a couple organizations. ... He's tough, he's very disciplined,
got a lot of experience, an intense coach, and I think that’s reflected in the
way his teams play."

Belichick said he and Coughlin share a mutual respect, speaking about common
problems and sharing things with each other -- particularly since their teams
are in different conferences.

While Belichick will be looking to dash the Giants' title hopes in two weeks,
he will always hold respect and fondness for the organization.

"Those were 12 great years of my life," he said. "I loved every one of them
with the Giants. The people I worked with, where I lived, our community, my kids
were born there. There's a lot of fond memories there."

* * *

Belichick did not give much of an update on TE Rob Gronkowski, who injured
his left ankle in the AFC Championship Game. Gronkowski was wearing a walking
boot Monday.

Belichick said "we'll see how it goes," noting that the team has not yet
practiced since the game. He added, "it's hard to gauge injuries" based on how
they look in the game.

* * *

Belichick praised safety James Ihedigbo, the ex-Jet who signed with the
Patriots in free agency this year. Mainly a special teams and situational player
with the Jets, Ihedigbo has stepped into a starting role in New England.
Belichick called him a leader who has quick recognition in the secondary.

"He's a hard worker, a really diligent guy," Belichick continued. "He's had a
lot of value in a number of different areas for us."

This is Coughlin's 16th season as a coach - eight with the Giants, eight with
the Jacksonville Jaguars - and the accolades are piling up. So many, in fact,
that the 65-year-old coach is entering Hall-of-Fame discussion.

Drop down to the comments
section to join the discussion on whether Coughlin is a Hall-of-Famer. And,
don't worry, Giants fans, we're saving that "Best coach in Giants history"
question for after the Super Bowl."

“As time goes on, I still can’t watch highlights from that game,” Brady said
Monday, in his weekly spot on Boston’s WEEI radio.

Robert Kraft agreed: “I’ve never been able to watch it.”

Two weeks from this past Sunday will be the rematch of that championship
game, the one in which the Giants knocked off their undefeated opponent with a
late-game drive that seemed near-miraculous to their fan base.

Kraft may have never watched a replay, but when he shared his memory of that
day, he listed the moments on which the game turned: The would-be interception
that went through Asante Samuel’s hands. Eli Manning eluding the grasp of at
least three Patriots defenders — and “whether the whistle blows,” Kraft said.
The football-to-helmet catch by David Tyree on the other end of Manning’s
escape.

“I talk a lot about spirit, I talk about emotions, I talk about vibes, I talk
about feelings, I talk about an atmosphere that’s been created by the
cooperation between players and coaches and the harmony and great feeling that
exists. It’s been that type of feeling that’s sustained us throughout the course
of the year but even more as I see people get real closer together.

“That naturally happens with success but I’m talking about a real bonding.
That’s what I sense and that’s what I feel.”

As Coughlin suggested, there’s yet to be a team on its way to the Super Bowl
that isn’t talking about “harmony” among the ranks.

But this is different.

The look on his face as his players were dancing around him and chanting,
“Ha, see you Wednesday” while Jacobs lifted him.

His uncharacteristically playful tone toward the media last Friday at the end
of a week in which he found it “difficult to contain yourself.”

Excerpt: "Hype is as much a Super Bowl requirement as the Roman numerals, perhaps the
NFL’s one rule that even its referees couldn’t screw up. So we’d be bracing for
two weeks of over-the-top buildup even if the matchup in the big game were, say,
Seahawks-Browns.

But this is different. This is Giants-Patriots, and that will take the
hype all the way to Defcon 1, all the way to 11 on the Spinal Tap amps, all the
way to a level so intense that, somewhere in a darkened ESPN studio, Chris
Berman is already foaming at the mouth in anticipation.

So in preparation for the coming Hype Tsunami, here are five story lines
you’ll be so sick of by the time kickoff finally arrives, you’ll consider moving
to Djibouti and becoming a cricket fan:

1. REMATCH! (Capital letters required.)

Have you heard? These two teams have met before. In, like, the Super Bowl.
And it was kinda epic.

Tom
Brady said it’s still too painful to watch highlights from Super Bowl XLII,
and if that’s really the case, maybe Giselle should cover the flat screens. If
David Tyree could earn royalties from every time his catch is shown over the
next two weeks, he’d crack the Forbes list.

The comparisons are unavoidable, since most of the major players from the
game remain. Still, turnover is the nature of the NFL, and there are far more
Patriots and Giants playing in their first Super Bowl than those returning for a
second crack. But no capital letters are required for that.

Really, what would you even say to the big lug at this point? His team
imploded from within. His star receiver can’t stand his franchise quarterback.
He has spent the past three weeks rolling himself under bus after bus, insisting
he’ll change his loudmouth ways next season.

Now he gets the Super Bowl From Hell for Jets fans. Here come the Patriots,
the team he promised the Jets finally would beat in the AFC East, against the
Giants, the team he insisted was the second best in the New York market. Here
comes Bill Belichick, the man whose rings Ryan would not kiss, against Tom
Coughlin, the coach he all but taunted in the weeks leading up to their
regular-season matchup.

A year ago, everything Rex touched turned to gold. Now, if we find out his
favorite singer is Madonna, she’ll probably tumble off the stage head first
during the halftime show.

The Giants quarterback was asked immediately after the NFC Championship Game
if it was even more exciting to play the big one in Indianapolis, where his
brother Peyton has been a superstar for so long.

“Well, I would have preferred New Orleans,” Eli said, “but hey, at least it’s
not Detroit!”

He didn’t say that, of course. But what could he say? The host city is about
as relevant to a Super Bowl team as the halftime act. Players go from film
sessions to media sessions to practices, so if they see anything in the city,
it’s probably from the charter bus window.

Chances are, Indianapolis Colts fans will be rooting for the Giants because
of Eli. Then again, given that the Patriots are the opponent, the Manning
bloodlines weren’t exactly a requirement to get their support.

4. Speaking of Eli, you can’t spell E-L-I-T-E without him. You also
need those letters to spell “We have EstabLIshed this already.”

Look: If you don’t think Eli
Manning belongs on the list of the league’s finest quarterbacks now, nothing
he does at Lucas Oil Stadium in two weeks is going to change your opinion.

We’ve seen how these postseason games go. A $100 million quarterback can
throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, only to have a backup kick returner
making the league minimum drop a punt in overtime. Just like that, season over
and legacies altered.

A second championship, especially if he outplays Brady with the world
watching, will put Eli on a level with the all-time greats. There’s no denying
that. But as far as proving, once and for all, the guy is one of the best
quarterbacks right now? That case is closed. Read more.GIANTS VS. 49ERS: KEY PLAYS IN GIANTS' NFC CHAMPIONSHIP WIN

1. Ahmad Bradshaw’s forward progressWhen: Score
tied at 17, 2:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Giants deep in their own
territory. What changed: Quite simply, the game. After a tremendous
block where Bradshaw managed to send Patrick Willis airborne, he snuck out of
the backfield and caught a short pass from Eli Manning. After six yards, it
appears that NaVorro Bowman rips the ball loose, giving the 49ers the ball
inside the Giant 20-yard line. But as Mike Garafolo noted in his game review
today, it was an excellent call by side judge Don Carlsen, who ruled that
Bradshaw’s forward progress had been stopped before the fumble occurred. Had
Bowman reached Bradshaw a second earlier, though, we may have been talking about
a 20-17 49ers victory.

2. Jim Harbaugh’s missed timeout and Alex Smith’s short throw to
Michael CrabtreeWhen: With a little more than six minutes
to play in the fourth quarter. A third-and-5 at the Giants’ 10-yard
line.What changed: Again, maybe the entire game if either Harbaugh
gets the timeout off, Smith puts that ball in a different spot for Crabtree, or
Crabtree makes a move upfield to get the extra two yards. At this point, the
49ers were trailing by three, 17-14, and were finally rolling after an excellent
return from the embattled Kyle Williams. But the Giants defense held strong,
forcing Smith into a throw he looked like he didn’t want. Meanwhile, Harbaugh
was darting off the sideline signaling for a timeout. Remember, a touchdown
there puts the Giants down four and with the way the 49ers defense was playing
in the second half, it would be tough sledding for Manning and Co. to answer
back.

3. Justin Tuck’s running into the kicker penalty

When: Early in the third quarter, the Giants leading by three. It
was San Francisco’s eighth play of the second half, on a fourth-and-6 at the
Giants’ 49 What changed: Possibly momentum if the 49ers are any
closer to the maker there. Tuck got flagged for a tick-tack shoulder nudge of
49ers Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee, and if the 49ers were a yard closer, they’d be
looking at a fresh set of downs inside Giants territory. Instead, it’s still
fourth-and-1 and the conservative Jim Harbaugh decided not to rest the Giants
short-yardage defense (and rightfully so given their track record so far in
these playoffs). Though that drive was largely driven by another Giants penalty
— Aaron Ross was flagged for an illegal contact on third-and-19 a few plays
before — you never know how another three plays could shape the course of that
game.

4. Steve Weatherford’s 50-yard punt deep in his own
territoryWhen: Less than two minutes to play in the fourth
quarter, the Giants have a fourth-and-15 at their own 21-yard line. What
changed: Nothing for the 49ers anemic offense, which was exactly what the
Giants were hoping for. Weatherford was given lots of props — and rightfully so
— for his holding duties in these conditions, but nailing that 50-yard punt, and
forcing the 49ers to start the drive from their own 29-yard line, was crucial
down the stretch. Any closer to field-goal range and things may have played out
differently. Instead, the 49ers offense continued to struggle and the Giants got
the ball back with the score still tied.

5. 49ers starting guard Mike Iupati injured his
ankleWhen: On the 49ers first drive, third
playWhat changed: With the rain pouring down, slopping up the
field, the conditions only encouraged the hapless 49ers offense to run the ball
even more. Completions — to receivers, especially — were at a premium. However,
with Iupati banged up, injuring his ankle when running back Kendall Hunter fell
on him, that made getting Frank Gore and Hunter their touches all the more
difficult. Iupati returned, but was injured again before the quarter was over.
He was seen limping during several points in the game, which is obviously no way
to be facing off against the most feared front four in football right now."

Excerpt: "At this point in January 2008, with the Giants having won five straight games, the
repeat question was whether the bye week before the Super Bowl might break their
rhythm.

While that same inquiry will surely be posed to them this week, there’s at
least one guy who’s relieved about the break.

“There are some weeks where you’re happy that you’ve got two weeks before
this next game,” quarterback Eli Manning said today during his weekly spot on
1050 ESPN Radio.

What he means is he felt every bit as bad as he looked when he was slammed to
the ground during Sunday’s NFC
Championship Game victory in San Francisco and got up with his chinstrap out
of place, grass in his facemask and his shoulder pad sticking out of the neck
hole of his jersey.

Manning was sacked six times during the game and, according to the official
scorer, was hit a total of 12 times.

“There was a little soreness, but just your typical kind of bumps and
bruises. Nothing major,” Manning said. “If we had to practice today, I’d be out
there ready to go.

“It was just one of those days. They’re tough. When you talk about good
defenses that I’ve played against and gone against, they’re a really good
defense.”

Justin Smith got four hits on Manning, including a sack in overtime before
Kyle Williams’ fumbled punt set up the game-winning field goal. Ray McDonald,
Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis each hit Manning twice.

“They’ve got a good scheme going there and good players,” Manning said, “so
they did a good job of making it tough on the quarterback.”

Tom Coughlin was glad to see, as always, Manning didn’t complain.

“He stands in there and he’ll take the blows, he’ll get right back up, he
gets right back in the huddle, he’s the same positive influence on everybody
around him,” Coughlin said on a conference call with reporters today. “He
doesn’t get real upset and point the finger or want to know what the deal is.
I’m sure he does in his mind, but he’s never going to show that.”

“People shy away from giving this defense respect,” Ihedigbo said today.
“We’ve earned the right to be called a good defense, and come Super Bowl Sunday,
we’re going to be proving that we’re a great defense.”

That could prove to be a tall task against a Giants offense that features an
explosive passing attack with quarterback Eli Manning and receivers Hakeem
Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham.

Ihedigbo said he was motivated before the AFC Championship Game by the
perception that there were three strong defenses left — the Ravens, the Giants
and the San Francisco 49ers — while the Patriots defense was its team’s weak
link.

“Everyone was talking about our defense — oh, there’s three great defenses
left in the playoffs and left our defense out of that,” Ihedigbo said. “It’s
about respect, that’s why you play this game. It’s not given, it is earned, and
each game we have a chance to prove that, and that’s what we plan on doing.”

The Patriots’ pass defense, in particular, has been scrutinized. They
surrendered 293.9 passing yards per game this season, second-most in the league.
Their lineup has been shuffled for injuries and other reasons, and includes a
former practice-squad player (Sterling Moore) and an offensive player (Julian
Edelman)." Read more...AFTER GIANTS' VICTORY, ANN MARA CHIDES FOX ANALYST TERRY BRADSHAW - VIDEO

"Perhaps some of the pugnacity the Giants have shown during their run to the
Super Bowl has rubbed off from Ann Mara, the wife of late Giants owner
Wellington Mara.

In the Giants locker room after Sunday's
victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Ann Mara
chided Fox analyst (and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback) Terry Bradshaw
for not picking the Giants during the network's pregame show.

As Bradshaw is about to interview wide receiver Victor Cruz, Mara steals the
show, tapping Bradshaw on the arm, then saying, "You never pick the Giants."
Cruz laughs, and Bradshaw chuckles too, then says, "I'm sorry. I'm getting
hammered for not picking the Giants."

“At times it was very difficult to contain yourself,” he said after
Sunday’s NFC Championship Game victory. “Even this past week, when the
excitement of this thing was building up, the days seemed to be flying by and I
was nervous we were doing all we could possibly do to put ourselves in a
position to win. But these guys have gone out and done it against the best we’ve
played.”

That’s a guy having fun right there.

“When you’re not in the playoffs, it hurts a lot,” Coughlin said. “Those are
the times when you think, ‘My goodness, what are we missing here? How are we
denying ourselves such an incredible, enjoyable experience? What can we do about
that?’

“It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been in the playoffs, a few years
since the Super Bowl, and now that we have this experience again, we’re humble
about it, knowing full well a game of this nature could’ve gone either way.
Thank God it went our way, but we’re excited about it.”

* * * *

One quick note: I did this as soon as I got back to my hotel Sunday night and
worked through the night. I had a 6 a.m. flight that doesn’t land until 2:30
p.m. or so. I sent this to the desk to post for me.

That’s a long way of me saying I’ll get to any corrections and additions when
I can. In the meantime, you know where to put your feedback down below.

Special teams coordinator Tom Quinn and assistant Larry Izzo. Suddenly, special teams is a strength of this team.
And by the way, nobody on the front line budged early on any of the kick
returns. The Niners weren’t going to sneak in a surprise onside kick on these
guys.

General manager Jerry Reese and the rest of the front
office. He was laughing at the idea of what he called the “murderer’s row”
schedule the Giants faced late in the season because there are no gimmes in this
league. Now, he’s very happy his team went through it. “The schedule was brutal
and we took advantage of the brutal schedule,” he said. “I like the tough
schedule. You win these kinds of games when you play a brutal, physical schedule
like we play, when you’re battle tested and you come out on top.”

QB Eli Manning. The touchdown pass to WR Mario
Manningham was a dart. That’s such a great throw right there. He had
plenty of others and did
a great job of not trying to do too much. But in another example of how calm
he is in pressure situations, his presence of mind to see the field-goal unit
running on the field at the end of the second quarter and to wait for them to
get back to the sideline before snapping it was huge. If he snaps the ball
there, that’s a penalty, as Troy Aikman and Joe
Buck told you. The part they left out is it’s also a 10-second runoff
because they didn’t have any timeouts. So had they been flagged for too many men
on the field, it would’ve been the end of the half. No field-goal attempt, no
halftime lead.

LB Jacquian Williams. We’ve covered
the forced fumble at length, so let’s take a moment here to highlight a
couple of fine third-down plays earlier in the second half: a pass defensed on a
scramble by Niners QB Alex Smith and a tackle on RB Frank Gore in the open field late in the third quarter.
Williams closed on Gore extremely quickly on that one.

WR Devin Thomas. Sometimes fumble recoveries are a matter of
luck, hustle and/or awareness, as was the case with his first recovery. And
sometimes, there’s skill involved like on the big one. That ball took only one
bounce before it popped up to a falling Thomas. He was ready and showed great
hands to make that play.

P Steve Weatherford. He deftly handled a low snap on the
game-winning field goal and also on a punt with 27 seconds left in the fourth
quarter. Nearly five months later, I think we can safety say the Giants made the
right call keeping him over Matt Dodge, huh?
K Lawrence Tynes. There was a lot of stuff that could’ve
broken his rhythm, and Billy
Cundiff’s miss earlier in the day could’ve gotten in his head as well. But he
nailed it.

WR Victor Cruz. Eight of his 10 catches were for first
downs. The first time he didn’t get a first down was a 13-yard catch on a
second-and-15 on the third-to-last play of the second quarter to set up a field
goal. The other one that didn’t go for a first down was a 6-yard catch in the
third quarter. On the next play, he caught a ball for 11 yards … and a first
down. I didn’t realize until today he didn’t have a catch after that 11-yarder,
which came with just under 9 minutes left in the third quarter. He
finished with 10 catches for 142 yards and could’ve easily cracked the
200-yard mark.

WR Hakeem Nicks. I forgot to ask what happened with his
shoulder early on. Given his threshold for pain and the way he reacted, I’m sure
he played through something painful.

Manningham. I wish I’d heard the TV feed during the game because Cruz was
yelling, “I told you! I told you!” and then turned to Nicks and screamed, “You
called it! You called it!” I’d love to know what they saw and what Nicks
called.

CBs Aaron Ross and Corey Webster. Yeah, I’d
say one catch for the other team’s receivers is a sign the corners played
well.

TE Bear Pascoe. I had no clue while watching live what
happened on his touchdown. After watching a few times on the replay, it looks
like Niners LB NaVorro Bowman was supposed to pick him up on
the crossing route. In any event, that was a great time for Pascoe to catch his
first NFL touchdown. The last time the Giants had played here, there were a
bunch of Cowboy hats waiting in the postgame meet-and-greet area. I had a
feeling they were there for the California native, whose family owns a ranch,
and they were. I didn’t get out to that area after this game, but I’m sure they
were waiting proudly once again.

DE Jason Pierre-Paul. Among other moments, his tackle of
Smith a yard short of the stick on a scramble in the second quarter was a fine,
fine play. He got upfield on LT Joe Staley and then peeled off
to get Smith. After a delay-of-game penalty, San Fran punted. One other
Pierre-Paul moment of note was when he got his hands up on third-and-5 with 6:03
left in the fourth quarter. That forced Smith to throw high for WR Michael Crabtree, who didn’t get the chance to get any yards
after the catch. A throw in stride there might’ve allowed him to get upfield and
get the first down inside the 5-yard line. Instead, the Niners settled for a
field goal and a tie game.

LB Mathias Kiwanuka. Okay, so it was a defensive lineman
trying to block him on third-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. But that’s still
DT Justin Smith, who’s a big, strong guy. So for Kiwanuka to
chuck him so quickly and create a pileup is another impressive play against the
run. Oh, and as his sack proved, he can still rush the passer when needed.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw. He wanted to “hit my head on the
goalpost” while scoring the game-winning touchdown. He didn’t get to do it but
he hit his head on plenty of opponents while going for 126 total yards." Read more...http://www.nj.com/giants/

"When Eli Manning talks, the
Giants listen because he doesn’t usually say a lot. So they were all listening
closely earlier on Tuesday when the quiet quarterback addressed the team and
delivered this message:

It’s time to take care of business.

“That’s basically what the message was about: Were’ going out there to take
care of business,” said safety Antrel Rolle.
“Everything else is for the spectators. Everything else is for your family and
for your friends. We’re going out there to handle business.

“It was a broad message that needed to be said. And it was a message that was
heard loud and clear by everyone. Basically this is about business. Let’s go
take care of it. Let’s go get it done, at whatever it costs.”

That’s what the Giants began doing on Tuesday when the NFC champions arrived
at the Meadowlands for team meetings and film study. They will be off on
Wednesday before returning for three days of practice on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday. On Monday they depart for Indianapolis, site of Super Bowl XLVI.

Manning’s point to them was that Super Bowl week can be a zoo, as he and a
few of his current teammates learned four years ago. That makes this a huge week
for the Giants. It’s where they’ll get in most of their study and preparation in
for the New England Patriots. Then they’ll be ready to go as soon as their
charter flight touches down.

“I was just telling them just a little bit how to prepare for this,” Manning
said. “Just handling all your business with tickets, getting that stuff done.
Just a few things on just the mindset of this week. We’ve got to have great
preparation. Prepare this week like you’re playing the game this week, because
once you get out to Indianapolis, you’ve got to take a bus ride to practice and
the whole schedule gets thrown off.

“We’ve got to have everything that we normally have to do during a normal
work week, we’re going to try to get it done this week.”

Manning said he expects the Giants will input about “95 percent” of the game
plan this week before they leave for Indianapolis. “There might be a few
additions (next) week,” he said. “The more film you look at you might change a
few things. But really, from the standpoint of the coaches and players, our
preparation will be done this week.

“That’s a big help,” he added. “That’s the way you want to do it. Just so
everybody knows the game plan and everybody has two weeks to look at it,
understand it. Once you get out there everybody will feel good about what we’re
doing.”

"This is no longer about who’s an elite quarterback, who’s not, we have talked
that one to death all season. This is about more than that, something more
important: Who the best quarterback is right now.

He is the quiet younger brother to Peyton Manning, who all of a
sudden has turned himself into a rock star. Or maybe rocked star, just because
of the way he kept getting rocked in Candlestick Park Sunday night, getting
knocked down, getting back up, helping win his team another big game.

Eli Manning is playing better than anybody going into this Super Bowl, and
that includes the guy he goes up against in Indy, old friend Tom
Brady. Eli did not have his best stats on Sunday against the 49ers, and was
on the ground a lot, and did not own the fourth quarter and overtime the way he
has a lot this season.

He still came away with two touchdown passes, more
than 300 passing yards, so many third-down conversions you lost count, this guy
who sometimes makes third-and-long look so easy.

And even though he came
close to turning the ball over to the 49ers, he did not. Did not throw the kinds
of interceptions that Brady threw in Foxboro against Baltimore, including one in
the end zone when the Patriots had a chance to put the Ravens away.

It
was supposed to be this huge upset when Manning was the better quarterback in
the end, eventually the MVP of the game, the last time the two teams met in the
Super Bowl. Not anymore. Maybe the surprise this time will be if Eli doesn’t win
the fourth quarter the way he did in Glendale, Ariz., four years ago, the way he
won the fourth quarter from the Patriots, in Foxboro, earlier this
season.

Brady has three Super Bowls to Eli’s one, Brady has had one of
the great careers, feels like a whole wing of the Hall of Fame already. And had
the bigger numbers this season. But Eli has thrown 15 fourth-quarter touchdown
passes, a record for pro football and for all time. Eli has now gone on the road
and beaten the two best records in his conference, same as he did four years ago
before he beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Peyton’s little brother as
rock star. Or rocked star. Take your pick. Put him on the ground, he gets back
up. Bounce him out of the pocket, he gets loose and completes another pass,
sometimes one of his back-foot specials like he threw down the sideline to Ahmad Bradshaw at
Candlestick Sunday night.

The Giants finally won in San
Francisco because they had the better defense even on a day when the 49ers
defense gave Eli Manning all he wanted. But they also had the better
quarterback, by a ton. Quarterback who gets up and keeps coming and never misses
a game no matter how hard you hit him.

And when you ask him, the way you
ask them all, how this has happened for the Giants, Eli says:

“I kept
believing in our team, that we hadn’t played our best football
yet.”

“Look at what this guy does,” Tom Coughlin says
after it is 20-17 for the Giants on Sunday night. “Look at how many times he got
back up the way he did tonight after getting hit the way they were hitting
him.”

In so many ways, Eli has become the star of everything and the face
of everything for the Giants the way Derek Jeter was for the
Yankees when he was younger. He is not just the Giants’ star, he is clearly
their leader, and that starts with the way the other players take their lead
from him.

Say it again: The coach calls Eli a grinder. But it is a team
of grinders now.

We talk all the time about Peyton and Eli, Eli and
Peyton. But maybe that is not the comparison to make. Maybe the better
comparison to make is the one between Eli and his father, Archie, one of the
toughest quarterbacks who ever lived, one who had as much heart as any
quarterback who ever played.

Archie never played on teams as good as the
ones his sons have played on. Was stuck on bad, dead-end teams in New Orleans
before he went to the Vikings way too late in his career. It is such a huge
reason why Eli’s dad was afraid Eli might get stuck on that kind of team in San
Diego and wanted him traded to the Giants.

But no matter how much Archie Manning got
hit and got put on his back, he got up and kept coming. You look at some of the
hits Eli took Sunday, the way he got away one time with his helmet sideways and
shoulder pads showing and somehow got the ball over to Bradshaw in the
flat.

Now he goes back to another Super Bowl, becomes the first Giants
quarterback to ever start two Super Bowls. Eli against Brady again in the big
game. Nobody asking him about being in Brady’s class anymore because we can see
it now.

Four years later, going into what feels like the biggest Super
Bowl of them all, the Giants wouldn’t trade their quarterback for anybody,
including the one they face in Indy."

The Patriots were a better team in 2007 than they are now. The Giants are a
better team now than they were in 2007.

Final score of Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14.

Prediction for Super Bowl XLVI: Giants 34, Patriots 24.

Four years ago, I had it Giants 31, Patriots 28. Right point differential.
Too many points.

The Patriots were building a dynasty when they won three Super Bowls in a
four-year period from 2001-04, but it’s been seven years since they last won it.
Is it a coincidence that Belichick has not won the Super Bowl since the Jets
blew up his Spygate operation in the season opener in 2007?

Elite Eli vs. Tom Terrific in the
first Super Bowl showdown of quarterbacks who have already been Super Bowl
MVPs.

Unlike four years ago, when Manning was in just his fourth season, this is
his team. Back then, it belonged to Michael Strahan.
The Patriots have always been pass-first with Brady. But they are not the
powerhouse they were in 2007 when Brady threw a record 50 TDs passes.

It’s the fourth set of teams in a Super Bowl rematch: The Cowboys played the
Steelers three times, the Cowboys played the Bills in back-to-back years and the
49ers played the Bengals twice.

Fifteen Giants who played in that Super Bowl remain with the team. There are
only seven Patriots who remain. You can be sure Belichick will say at least 100
times over the next two weeks that the 2007 game means nothing and, that these
are different teams. That’s just coach-speak.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has never
been able to watch the game. If you don’t think Brady, who is ultra-competitive,
and his coach in the gray hoodie, who wants to win so badly he got caught
cheating, want revenge, then you have not been paying attention to what makes
these guys so good. They are consumed with winning.

“I mean, time goes on, and I still can’t watch highlights from that game,”
Brady said on his weekly Monday morning radio spot in Boston. “We had a great
opportunity and we squandered it.”

"A trip back to the Super Bowl for Justin Tuck means a
return to the stage where he played perhaps his greatest game.

And he’ll
be going against the same opponent, the New England Patriots.

Though Eli
Manning was the MVP of the Giants’ 17-14 win in Super Bowl XLII, Tuck could
very easily have earned the accolade. He put Tom Brady under constant
pressure, sacking him twice and forcing a fumble.

“I hope it is déjà vu,”
Tuck said Monday in an interview on WFAN. “It was probably one of my better
games. Obviously it kind of put me on the map as a defensive player in this
league, especially doing it on that stage against the quality of competition we
were going against that night.”

Tuck says that “the best will bring out
your best” and that certainly was the case four years ago.

“I’ve heard a
lot of basketball players talking about being in the zone; it just seems I was
in the zone that night,” he told WFAN. “Hopefully we can return to Indianapolis
and I can get back in that zone. Not just me, but this entire football
team.”

By the end of Sunday’s overtime NFC Championship Game win over the
49ers, Tuck felt he and the defensive unit were in it. “No matter what it took,
we weren’t going to allow them to score any more,” he said.

It’s been a
fast ascent for Tuck to return to a starring role with the defense. He battled
injuries to his neck, groin and shoulder during this season and reportedly
considered asking to be put on the injured reserve because he felt he wasn’t
contributing. That was before the pep talk from Tom Coughlin that’s
seemingly coaxed him back to the forefront.

And he was the seeming
subject of Antrel Rolle’s
criticism of players missing practice because of injuries, Rolle
saying,

“If you’re going to go out here and play the game on Sunday, you
need to be out there with your men throughout the week.”

“A lot of guys
have stepped up and said we’re going to stop all the bickering and
finger-pointing from early in the season,” Tuck said “Individually a lot of guys
have looked in the mirror and said . . . ‘how can I make this team better.’ No
one really cares where the credit is coming from - It’s all about the team
now.” Read more...

"Tom Coughlin's
attention shifted to the Patriots the team the Giants will face in the Super
Bowl for the second time in four years immediately after Lawrence Tynes
overtime field goal sealed Sundays overtime victory over the 49ers in the NFC
Championship ame.

As always takes place with the (game-winning) field goal, you dont stop and
say to yourself, We won this game. You say, Were going to the Super Bowl,’ ”
Coughlin said on a conference call Monday after the Giants arrived back in the
New York area following a cross-country red-eye flight from San Francisco. Were
going to have time to study.

The New England Patriots have won 10 games in a row. They are an outstanding
football team, without question. . . . We know what were going to find when we
do study a very good, very talented football team that has put together a really
outstanding string of wins.”

Coughlin, Eli Manning and the
Giants, of course, have experience in spoiling a season for Bill Belichick, Tom
Brady and the Patriots. Big Blue ended their bid at perfection in Super Bowl
XLII four years ago.

But since losing to the Giants 24-20 in Foxborough on Nov. 6 earlier this
season a game Coughlin noted seems like an awful long time ago the Pats have
outscored opponents 359-188 during a 10-game winning streak.

The Giants will reconvene Tuesday at the Meadowlands for meetings and film
review, and they will practice on their home turf for three days beginning
Thursday before departing for Indianapolis on Monday.

Coughlin clearly has continued to enjoy this run from a 7-7 record on Dec. 18
to winning what he described as five single-elimination games in a row, which
includes playoff victories over Atlanta and Green Bay.

The 65-year-old coach also praised the Giants for being as locked in as well
as any team Ive ever been associated with in Saturdays pregame meetings and for
their mental and physical toughness in outlasting the Niners in difficult
conditions one night later.

Theres a great feeling. . . . I’m talking about a real bonding, Coughlin
said. Thats what I sense and feel. Ive seen a real responsive team.

You could hear a pin drop in those meetings rooms. You could literally feel
and sense the acceptance and the concentration. Those are the things that I
appreciate. These guys have really brought a very strong businesslike approach
to what theyre doing and whatever word you want to use, theres a strong feeling
among this group, and its really been a great source of pride for all of us to
be associated with them.”

According to Coughlin, the return flight from San Francisco was very loud, as
his players deservedly were all excited and remain that way.

That respect and appreciation also is returned toward a head coach who didn't
waver even when his job was being called for in the media and among the fan base
while the season seemingly was slipping away last month.

This might be the defining career season for him, defensive end Justin
Tuck said Monday about Coughlin on WFAN. I dont see why he wouldn’t be the
top candidate for Coach of the Year considering the pressure thats on him in New
York. It is definitely the type of city thats about what have you done for me
lately? And it just seems every year Coach Coughlins job is up for grabs.

I know its a lot of pressure on him and he has not really wavered either way.
You really couldnt tell if he was a coach that had won four Super Bowls in a row
or a coach that was on the hot seat. The whole season long hes stayed
even-keeled and stuck to his guns and believed in what this team was going to be
about. Its trickled throughout this entire franchise."

If you ask Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, they will
tell you that resilience has been the difference between the one-and-done
playoff teams the previous two seasons and the group that outlasted the Ravens
23-20 in Sunday’s taut AFC Championship Game.

That resilience is as much a reason the Patriots are headed to Super Bowl
XLVI in Indianapolis in pursuit of the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy as Tom
Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker have been.

And that resilience is probably the Patriots’ best chance to overcome the
surging tidal wave of momentum, confidence and execution their Super Bowl
opponents, the Giants, have become on their magical ride to a second Super Bowl
in four years.
The Patriots need to go no further than watching the tape of the Giants’
riveting 20-17 overtime win over the 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game in
San Francisco to understand that there might not be a more mentally tough team
than the Giants in the land.

“I’m very impressed with our mental toughness,’’ Gian

“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” MB Rule # 1